Family History Writing Challenge - Day 10

Having established that my Great Great Grandparents James Elstone and his wife Mary nee Denyer moved their family of 9 children from Bramshott to Merrow, Guildford I wondered why? According to the 1881 Census for Merrow James Denyer was a labourer, and I wonder if he worked for a farmer who held land in both Bramshott and Merrow? or was it simply that he was paid more in Merrow?

Mary Denyer having married James Elstone in 1857 had their first child, James in the same year and then almost systematically had the remainder of the children every two to three years for the next 23 years, the last child being my Great Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Elstone born in 1880, when Mary was 42 years old.

The line up, all born in Bramshott Hampshire, looked like this:

James born 1857

Ann born 1859

Eliza born 1862

Alice born 1864

Henry born 1867

William born 1872

Alfred born 1875

Frederick born 1877

Mary Elizabeth born 1880

My Grandmother often spoke of several of her mother's siblings Ann, Eliza and Alfred, who my Grandmother always refers to as Uncle Alf. The remainder my Grandmother never spoke of and until I researched the family I didn't know of their existence.

I knew from my Grandmother that one of her mother's cousins lived in Merrow and he was apparently the school's inspector for Guildford,who would visit my Great Grandmother, Mary Elizabeth in Guildford asking why my Grandmother's brothers had not been to school. Mary Elizabeth would always be furious and always smack the boys for playing truant, and when I asked for the name of the inspector it was not known. Research has not provided those details, and I can imagine that my Great Grandmother was a stickler, and according to my Grandmother she indeed was!

The photograph here is of my Great Grandmother Mary Elizabeth when she was approximately 18 years of age. It is such a sad photo and at some point before I inherited it, it had been torn and fixed together with tape.

Word count 343